The Restoration: How the LDS Church Claims Divine Authority

What Is the Great Apostasy?

The Restoration is the central truth claim of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It asserts that the original church established by Jesus Christ during His mortal ministry fell into apostasy—a general falling away from truth—after the death of the original apostles. This apostasy was not instantaneous but was a gradual loss of divine authority and understanding that characterized the Christian church for over a thousand years. In the 1800s, God restored His church through Joseph Smith, giving back to the earth the priesthood, ordinances, and revealed truth that had been lost.

The scriptural foundation for the Great Apostasy doctrine is substantial from the LDS perspective. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 warns of "a falling away first" before the coming of Christ. Amos 8:11-12 prophesies a "famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord" and says "they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." This passage is interpreted as describing the period after the apostles when truth was not available.

Acts 3:21 speaks of "the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." Latter-day Saints understand this verse as prophesying that all things would eventually be restored. Revelations chapters 12 and 13 describe a great beast and a harlot woman, symbols which LDS teaching interprets as the great and abominable church—apostate Christianity—that persecuted the saints and corrupted the truth.

Evidence LDS cite for the apostasy includes: the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.), where church leaders gathered to define Christian doctrine through vote, rather than through revelation; the use of creeds (the Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Chalcedon, etc.) to define doctrine, which Latter-day Saints view as limiting God's revelation; the development of priestly classes and hierarchies; the loss of the practice of continuing revelation (ongoing prophets speaking God's word); the corruption of temple practices (which LDS believe should have continued); the elevation of Mary beyond biblical warrant; the doctrine of sola scriptura (that the Bible alone is sufficient), which LDS see as a departure from the principle that God continues to speak; and historical persecution and modification of Christian doctrine by secular authorities.

What Was Restored and How

The Restoration began with the First Vision in the spring of 1820. Joseph Smith, a fourteen-year-old farm boy in upstate New York, went into the forest to pray about which church to join. He reported that he saw two heavenly beings—identified in LDS tradition as God the Father and Jesus Christ—who told him that all existing churches were wrong and that he would be the instrument through which the true church would be restored. This vision is foundational to LDS faith. Joseph Smith—History 1:17-19 records his own account.

Following the First Vision came a series of revelations and spiritual manifestations. In 1823, Joseph Smith reported that the angel Moroni appeared to him, directing him to a set of golden plates hidden in the earth that contained the record of an ancient American civilization and, more importantly, another testament of Christ. Over the course of several years, Smith translated these plates into English. The result was the Book of Mormon, published in 1830. The subtitle—"Another Testament of Jesus Christ"—declares the book's purpose: to stand alongside the Bible as evidence that Jesus Christ is the Savior.

The formal restoration of the priesthood occurred through angelic messengers. In May 1829, John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood—the priesthood of Aaron. This gave them the authority to baptize. Shortly afterward, the Apostles Peter, James, and John appeared and conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood—the higher priesthood. These priesthood ordinations are central to LDS understanding of restored authority. Without the proper priesthood authority from God, Latter-day Saints believe, no ordinances (baptism, confirmation, temple work, etc.) are valid.

On April 6, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized. Joseph Smith was called as the first prophet and president. The church had a modest beginning—initial converts numbered in the dozens. But Joseph received a steady stream of revelations, recorded in what became the Doctrine and Covenants, organizing the church, teaching doctrine, and directing the membership.

Throughout the 1830s and 1840s, Joseph Smith received revelations that restored doctrines that LDS members believe had been lost. The doctrine of pre-mortal existence (that spirits lived before birth). The doctrine of the plan of salvation with three degrees of glory. The restoration of temple ordinances—the endowment and sealings—as rites of passage that bind individuals and families to God eternally. The restoration of marriage sealing, so that marriages could be eternal rather than ending at death. The restoration of continuing revelation, so that the church would not be locked into a closed canon but would continue to receive God's direction through living prophets.

The Restoration Is Ongoing

Joseph Smith was martyred in 1844, shot by an angry mob in Carthage, Illinois. Leadership of the church passed to Brigham Young, who led the majority of the church to the Great Basin, where Salt Lake City was founded. From there, the church continued to grow, receiving further revelations through succeeding prophets—Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and all subsequent presidents of the church.

A critical LDS doctrine is that the Restoration is not complete. God continues to reveal His will through living prophets. When the president of the church receives a revelation that the church is ready to accept new truth or change practice, that revelation is presented to the church membership for sustaining approval (a vote). Notable examples: the revelation in 1978 extending the priesthood to all worthy men regardless of race; the revelation in 1990 discontinuing plural marriage. Members believe God will continue to speak and continue to restore truth and correct practice as the church grows and is ready.

The Restoration is not understood as exclusive LDS doctrine. The church teaches that there is truth in other Christian churches, that good people of other faiths may be saved, and that God works through many channels. But the Restoration specifically claims that the fullness of priesthood authority, ordinances, and revealed truth is found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.